oh come forth
into the storm and rout
and be my love in the rain

Darkened points pricked on her tiara the moment their eyes met, and something warm and odd in his stomach twisted to see her face alight with joy at the mere sight of him. Though he could not deny that his body was similarly eager, ears pricked and massive hooves moving forth as if she was polar north and he a compass point. Never did the thought cross his mind that she was trespassing. He never doubted her, never feared her or was wary of her presence. Instead he delighted in simply seeing her at his borders, as uncaring if she'd stepped just over the line as he would have been if she'd dropped from the sky straight into the heart of the herd. It was a thought he would have to ruminate on later, for all that it told him in the span of one moment about what he felt for her.

Her curled lips felt like the most soothing spring water on a hot day, whiskers kissing and tickling his maw which could not help but lift in the same expression. She was glowing, and though part of it was her inherent magic, Kaj could not simply label it as that. Her color that day matched his, two little pinpoints of brightness on a backdrop of emerald, coming together and sharing breaths and scents as if they had been slowly dying while apart. Kaj internally shuddered to realize how long he had been waiting to see her again, how often she had occupied his thoughts and worries. But it was swept away on the tide of her exaltation, what he had been so dearly hoping to see painted on her face since he'd initially come across her. For she looked like the warrior queen she was meant to be, when that come-hither vixen smile was curled on her lips, taunting and teasing him with how much he wanted it to stay. If he had his way, he'd never see her painted in sorrowful lights again, only blazes of euphoria and righteousness.

Perhaps he recognized the storms that resided inside her, called out to it with a fervor, found kinship in their similarities. Whatever it was, he leaned further into her touch for a moment, breath momentarily coming out shaky. He was removed from that thought as she lipped at him, catching playfully on his sensitive muzzle and bringing forth a deep, rolling laugh like a summer thunder storm from his chest. And at last she spoke - oh dear maiden let me hear thy voice - and it was like a crooning sigh of wind over long grasses, sinuous and pleasing all at once.

A moment of panic clutched his heart to see her suddenly stare anew at him, as if startled by something he had said. It lasted but a moment, and he did not allow it to show upon his visage, but he worried quietly in the back of his mind nonetheless. She dispelled it summarily, a quick collection of words that had him paying close attention to the attractively mischievous smirk on her face. He craned his neck in an almost preening motion as he watched her advance on him, perfectly still and loose-limbed, unnervingly trusting. He shivered to feel her touch against his hide, in such a blatantly intimate, teasing manner. It set him alight, stoked a fire in his blood.

And yet she was gone in a flash, and Kaj was certainly not mistaking the twinkle of mischief and merrymaking in her gaze that winked back at him. It was followed by a real wink, a toss of her mane and playfully challenging words. It shocked a laugh from him once more, a growl coming from his throaty vocals as he narrowed his eyes mock-angrily at the vixen and her wiles. "Why you," he rumbled, breaking off in an exhilarated laugh as she sprung away from him and went racing down the hillside. Kaj never wasted a second, thundering after her on long limbs. He watched her throw herself to the mercies of the winds, as trusting as he in the fact that she would not be let down or mistreated.

Massive canopies of feathers shifted from his side, fitting his stature. They gleamed a mix of tawny gold and gilded ivory, lifting his frame in one hard push off the earth. Wind whistled in his ears, but all he could hear was her laughter resounding in his head. He pursued her, beating his wings hard to catch up with the lither bird. Magic brewed in his chest, clouds darkening with tension and dry heat, static electricity building up harmlessly across his muzzle. Arcing lights of the palest blue complimented the eyes they framed, and as Kaj swooped close down towards Cirrus' hindquarters he reached for her, aiming a harmless nip at the meat of her rump that would simultaneously shock her with his magic.

He hoped to see her reflect the darker clouds he summoned, to see her mirror his magic, his creation. Kaj was struck with a sudden primal urge to see her marked up with everything about him, everything he owned. It slammed into him, and he wheeled away from her in a sharp turn, taking the chance to distract himself by changing the tides of their game of tag. Still, it winded him to feel the force of such possessive desires. What spell had she spun over him, to trap him so effectively in her web already?

@[Cirrus]